Hungarian news in English, your guide to the politics of Hungary.

Szijjarto urges EU-Japan free trade

Fast and comprehensive changes under way in world politics and economy, and new alliances are in the interest of the European Union and Hungary in such turbulent times, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told a Budapest conference on economic partnership between Japan and the bloc on Thursday.

Japan’s is the third strongest economy in the world, and it is the flagship of a new economic era, which rests on innovation, Szijjarto said.

An agreement between the EU and Japan has created a bloc giving a quarter of the world’s GDP, he said. Hungary would further boost its trade turnover with Japan, which amounted to 2 billion euros in 2017, he said. Hungary’s small and open economy has large reserves of creativity and flexibility, and a vested interest in free, fair trade with equal opportunities for all, he said. Hungary’s exports reach 90 percent of GDP, he said, with 79 percent of exports going to the EU.

Kuni Sato Photo: Kormany.hu

The US and China are the country’s second and third trading partners. A peaceful and swift end to the trade war among these powers is in Hungary’s interest, he said.

Japan’s Ambassador to Hungary, Kuni Sato, told the conference that the agreement, which would strengthen the EU and Japan’s economy, would have been impossible without the support of European people and companies.